Objective: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) aims to help patients establish new behaviors that will be maintained and adapted to the demands of new situations. The long-term outcomes are therefore crucial in testing the durability of CBT.
Method: A two-year follow-up assessment was undertaken on a subsample of n = 146 PD/AG patients from a multicenter randomized controlled trial. Treatment consisted of two variations of CBT: exposure in situ in the presence of the therapist (T+) or on their own following therapist preparation (T-).
Results: Both variations of CBT had high response rates and, overall, maintained the level of symptomatology observed at post-treatment with high levels of clinical significance. Effect sizes 24 months following treatment were somewhat lower than at the 6-month follow up. Once patients reached responder status, they generally tended to remain responders at subsequent assessments. Differences were observed for patients that obtained additional treatment during the follow-up period. Expert opinion and subjective appraisal of treatment outcome differed. No robust baseline predictors of 2-year outcome were observed.
Conclusion: Most patients maintain clinically meaningful changes two years following treatment across multiple outcome measures. Approximately 1/3 of patients continued to experience meaningful residual problems.
Keywords: Agoraphobia; CBT; Exposure; Long term follow-up; Non-responder; Panic.
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